IAM Social Services Department

Emily McDuffy: Co-Social Services Manager
Betsy Logan: Co-Social Services Manager

The Social Services Department interviews neighbors in need to determine what services IAM can provide. Those services include:

• Financial Assistance: Utility payments, rent, heating fuel, prescription medications. Vouchers are paid directly to the utility, pharmacy or gas station. IAM does not provide any money or checks directly to a neighbor in need. For prescription refills, IAM can help in one-time emergency situations.

• Food Assistance for All: Enough traditional or Latino food to feed a family for one week. Vegetarian, gluten-free and low-sodium products are available. Food once a month or more for an on-going crisis.

• Clothing: Each person receives at least two outfits, new underwear, socks, shoes, shirts, pants, dresses, skirts, shorts, a coat or a jacket; interview and specialty job clothing. IAM provides new and gently used clothing to our neighbors in need.

The people who make sure that IAM distributes assistance to neighbors in need in an efficient and compassionate manner are Emily McDuffy and Betsy Logan, Co-Social Services Managers. Emily has been with IAM for over 10 years after a long career in the Mental Health field. “I retired to IAM,” she says with a laugh. Betsy started at IAM in 2017 as a Pantry and Clothing Department volunteer. She transitioned to Client Receptionist for two years and has spent the last year in the Social Services Department - starting in March 2020 just as the effects of COVID-19 really started to change the way IAM operates.

Emily admits that the past year of dealing with COVID restrictions has been extremely challenging, but that a lot of new programs and procedures have evolved from the challenges - changes that will serve IAM and our neighbors in need well in the future.

One of the biggest challenges during the pandemic has been the reduction in the number of volunteers who have been available to help Emily and Betsy. Before COVID-19, there were 30-40 volunteers available to help interview neighbors and determine what kind and how much assistance was needed. For the past 12 months, however, the Social Services department has run on a dramatically reduced volunteer staff of 10-12 volunteers. All of which has been compounded by the fact that the level of need in Henderson County spiked significantly as people either lost their jobs or were significantly under-employed due to cut-backs caused by the pandemic.

That double-whammy resulted in a lot more work for Emily and Betsy, but they have handled it with their typical calm and grace under pressure. At the end of 2020 Social Services was assisting an average of 35-40 people a day. And the level of need was much greater than what they had seen previously. Besty notes that the size of rent/mortgage payments and utility bills has increased significantly as residents fall further and further behind on their payments.

During 2020, the Social Services Department was able to assist people with:

• $126,972 in Rent/Housing Assitance: IAM assisted 728 individuals to prevent additional homelessness in Henderson County and to help neighbors protect the health and safety of their families. This level of aid represents a 135% increase compared to 2019

• $152,306 in Heat and Utility Payments: IAM helped 1,503 families avoid service disconnections - while allowing households to allocate their scarce resources to pay for food and essential health care for their family. This amont was a 135% increase over the level of aid allocated in 2019.

In addition, the Social Services Department determined how much food and clothing neighbors required for their families and passed that information along to IAM’s Food Assistance and Clothing Assistance Departments where the orders were filled and distributed.

The hardest part of the job for Emily and Betsy is not being able to always meet everyone’s request for assistance - although everyone is given as much information as possible about all their alternatives for assistance in Henderson County. The most rewarding part of their job is being able to make a difference in people’s lives and the opportunity to work with volunteers that really have a heart for helping people. “My biggest reward is feeling that I'm serving the Lord. I'm exactly where he wants me to be. And that I can help people who are in need,” says Betsy. Emily agrees. “We have a group of people at IAM that all have the same goal. We all want to help people that come in here and that's a big plus. I think this is where I’m meant to be.“

Emily is also grateful for the volunteers and donors to IAM who make the work of the Social Services Department possible. “We want to thank all the people that support us. Without them, we couldn’t begin to do our job.”

Good luck and Go with God.